Camping in the Shenandoah Valley...

 We always look forward to getting a weekend at Shenandoah State Park in the fall. We try and time it so the trees are starting to turn and so that we get to the nearby apple orchards before all the good ones are taken. It really is a gorgeous campground - and highly sought after so getting a site requires planning ahead. This also means you don't necessarily get to wait for a fall weather weekend to pop up and jump on it. That said - we had a lot of shorts and tees on this weekend - and some sweaty apple picking. All that to say - it was still a great weekend in the Shenandoah Valley.

Our site backed up to this open field which made for some spectacular sunset views. It was amazing - and it helped us heal our VT v. Duke Friday night (why was college playing on a Friday!?) loss blues. 

The apple picking - while hot - was fruitful - we came away with lots of great apples, some for applesauce, some for eating, one for a tart. We also got our first apple cider slushie experience - and OMG - where has that been all our lives? So good. Wish we'd gotten one for everyone - the bickering and fighting over the one slushie may have been worse than that loss to Duke...ok - it wasn't - that was brutal.

The rest of the weekend was all about hiking, biking, leaf peaking, fire making, reading, relaxing - and of course - eating some of those apples! 

Virginia is for (fall & apple) lovers!